The Oval Test: 'Thank you Bhaiyya....' Mohammed Siraj's sweet reply to Virat Kohli's social media post on India-England series goes viral

Captaincy in cricket is a difficult art. You should not only be tactically aware but also have good man-management skills. Very few captains in history have been able to crack both the codes. When it comes to Virat Kohli, his style of leadership had a mix of both in Test cricket. Amongst those Kohli backed through thick and thin was Mohammed Siraj who had always been Kohli's go-to man right from when the Hyderabad man was a rookie in international cricket.

Remember his early days for RCB in IPL 2017-18 when he used to leak a lot of runs? Criticism was ruthless on him those days despite the fact that Siraj had never been a specialist T20 bowler. He was always known for his bowling in the longest format although he could adapt to the shorter formats as well. During those days, he hadn't played Test cricket for India and hence, the public weren't aware. Kohli, though, knew of Siraj's red-ball prowess and got him into the mix soon. Over the years, Siraj went from rookie to one of India's potent pacers who always stood out for his workhorse attitude.

On August 4, when Siraj produced a game-defining performance at The Oval to seal a thrilling six-run for India against England, accolades flew left, right and center for the 32-year-old. The most coveted amongst those came from Kohli himself as the former captain took to X to congratulate the Indian team. Known for his trend-setting decision to mould India's fast-bowling culture in Tests, Kohli was all praise for Siraj and Prasidh Krishna who engineered The Oval heist.

"Great win by team india. Resilience and determination from Siraj and Prasidh has given us this phenomenal victory. Special mention to Siraj who will put everything on the line for the team. Extremely happy for him ❤️

@mdsirajofficial @prasidh43", wrote Kohli on his X account.

To this, Siraj replied in the sweetest way possible. It was just a sentence but it spoke volumes about the bond the two shared on and off the field.

"Thank you bhaiya for “Believe”ing in me ❤️", replied Siraj to Kohli's post.

Siraj ended the series with 23 wickets, the most by any bowler across both sides. He also bowled approximately 186 overs, again the most by any bowler in the series. He was also the only bowler to play all five Tests without getting injured. According to CricViz, his delivery to get the final wicket of Gus Atkinson clocked 143kph, his fifth fastest delivery in the whole series. For a man who bowled 180-plus overs in the series, to put in that kind of effort, speaks about the man's never-say-die character.